Puerto Rico Facing Island-Wide Power Outage After New Earthquakes Hit

Updated 1/7/20 6:20 a.m.: Island-wide power outage after earthquake hits Puerto Rico. A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck Puerto Rico before dawn on Tuesday, the largest in a series of quakes that have struck the U.S. territory in recent days and caused heavy damage in some areas. Story developing.

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A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck Puerto Rico on Monday, with plenty of aftershocks expected. The earthquake occurred at 5:32 a.m. and was centered about 8 miles south-southeast of Indios, Puerto Rico, at a depth of about 3.7 miles below ground.

No major injuries were reported, Puerto Rico Director of Emergency Management Carlos Acevedo said. He said some homes were damaged in Guanica, and a home collapsed in Guayanilla. There were also reports of rock slides along Route 2, Acevedo said. A popular tourist landmark in Puerto Rico, Punta Ventana, was destroyed. The beachside rock formation was located in the town of Guayanilla and is aptly named Punta Ventana (or “Window Point”) as it resembles a stone window that looks out to a beautiful view of the ocean behind it.

Tthe USGS said “More earthquakes than usual (called aftershocks) will continue to occur near the mainshock. When there are more earthquakes, the chance of a large earthquake is greater which means that the chance of damage is greater.”